It takes great focus to develop software, write code, and debug it. There are definite steps a coder’s brain goes through when performing these functions. It’s not just like a ‘wash, rinse, repeat’ situation. There’s logic, problem solving, and decisions required.

According to a recent study published by Proceedings of National Academy of Science, typically, male brains ‘see then do’ and are better at focusing, while female brains tend to be more intuitive and collaborative and better at multitasking. Should we then assume that men are natural coders and developers since their brains, at first glance, appear to be made for the job? Of course not! Creating software is a very human process.

In fact, the late Karen Spärck Jones, who was among the first women to blaze a trail in computer science and introduced the concept of inverse document retrieval (IDF), which is used in most search engines today, once said,

“computing is too important to be left to men.”

That’s why smart companies are looking to hire women to be a part of their development teams. But how does a lack of women coders impact a business? The answer is simple: the more diversity that exists on a development team, the better the software. Having diversity on any team prevents dreaded groupthink and brings new ideas that can improve a product in ways never imagined.

I am reminded of a personal experience that I had as a grad school student in 1978. I entered the computer science breakroom on the fifth floor of Evans Hall at UC Berkeley and was surprised to see most of my fellow female graduate students in the midst of a meeting. They were forming a women’s engineering group.

“What do you need that for?” I asked innocently. I was politely told,

“women still need role models for pursuing computer science and engineering careers.”

This is still true today nearly 40 years later.

Although 30 percent of women in the workplace are employed in the tech industry, it’s a sobering thought to be reminded that only about 10 to 20 percent of those women are in the dev rooms, actually coding, or in leadership positions crafting a product’s direction or strategy.

But professionals all over the world are working to change that. In fact, software outsourcing firms are proactively hiring women to create more diverse teams that provide a higher level of software development services. Don’t get left behind!